Some hope in Salt Lake

After a really lackluster first five audition episodes of Idol, with so many mediocre singers getting tickets to Hollywood (really, there's been two or three on each show that I've said, "C'mon, really? They're letting them go through?"), at least in Salt Lake City tonight we finally got a handful of singers that I could say, "OK, there's a top 12 candidate." (Although we still had our share of mediocre singers, like that senior class president kid. He couldn't even sing the melody of the songs he did.)

I liked Amy Winehouse Jr., I liked the girl with the ugly tattoos covering most of her right arm, and the tall Hawaiian girl wasn't as good as they said but still wasn't bad. And I have a soft spot for the girl whose parents died but sort of looks like Britney Spears. Combine them with the girl at the end of last night's show who sort of reminded me of Katharine McPhee (the one who was told to come back as a "new person"), and we're finally getting somewhere--although it would be nice if I could remember any of the guys that have sung the last couple weeks.

I'm still a little worried about this season--we have one too many judges and way too many singers who aren't anything special. And about that new judge--Kara's statement on Tuesday night that she won't be satisfied this season until Simon "tries something" on her was really pathetic. You saw the look on Simon's face--he was thinking, "It's great I get to spend all this time sitting next to two women who desperatly want to jump me. And I can't believe this new one is more desperate than Paula."

But after one more audition episode Thursday night, we're finally going to Hollywood, and that's always fun.

Fingerhut out.